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WEDNESDAY EDITION: News from Rick-KM1G
air gun.pdf...I bought a few Baofeng walkies and programmed
them with FRS frequencies and played hide and seek with my grandkids
in the surrounding woods and neighborhood yesterday. I have been
trying to get them involved with ham radio and thought this was a
way to start out. After we finished and came in the house, I grabbed
my Yaesu FT2DE and connected to my Openspot 2 and talked to a few
hams around the country and one in England, the kids were
amazed. Friday I am going to show them 20/40 meters ssb, just trying
to plant a seed.....Red Sox playing like crap but the Bruins and
Celtics are hot, both wrapped up their first playoff
series....50 CW QSOs....congrats
to this ham...
After being a licensed amateur radio operator since 1993, I
finally decide to get serious about learning CW and using it on the
air. I was originally licensed as a Technician Plus, so I had
learned the code, but I never used it. I mainly hung out on a few
VHF and UHF repeaters during my daily commute and played around with
packet radio. I upgraded to General when the 13-wpm code requirement
was eliminated. But I never used my HF privileges.
I signed up and took the CWOPS CW Academy (CWA) Level 1 and 2
courses. I started Level 1 in January of 2018 and the Level 2 in
September 2018. The coaching and feedback from my advisors was very
helpful and working with the other course participants gave me the
confidence to use CW on the air. I went from a rough 5 wpm to a
passible 16 wpm. I went ahead and signed up for the Level 3 course,
so I can get more coaching on head copy and to build my speed. I can
send and receive comfortably at 16 WPM, but I really want to get to
20 or even 25 wpm. I am on the waiting list for the January 2019
session.
On December 2, 2018, I completed my 50th CW QSO. I know it’s not
a lot, but it sure felt like a milestone to me. I wanted to share
some of my experiences as a CW rookie. Rookie may be too kind, I am
a CW Newbie.
In early November 2018, I hung a 135 ft, OCF Dipole up about 35
feet in a tree in my backyard. I didn’t have any help, so it took
most of the day to get the antenna up, secured and to run the 150
feet of coax to my shack in the basement. I had bought a very used
Ten Tec Scout 555 with the 80, 40, 20, and 15-meter modules off eBay
for $250.00. It was the cheapest, working HF rig I could find at the
time. My antenna analyzer confirmed that the OCF dipole had good SWR
on 80, 40, 20, 17, 10 and 6 meters. This was good, because I hadn’t
finished building my antenna tuner. I could get on the air. I sent a
quick email to my Level 2 classmates and set up a sked for the next
evening. I just wanted one more day to listen and practice before I
got on the air.
As the time for the sked got close, I fired up my Scout, set the
keyer speed and waited. At 9:00pm local time, I sent my first CQ
into the world. Well it wasn’t exactly a CQ, it more of a CC QQ or
maybe it was a QC CQ. Whatever it was, it was wrong. So, I stopped,
took a breath and tried again. “CQ CQ CQ, de N3BXZ, N3BXZ K” and I
waited. A few seconds later, my heart stopped when I heard my call
sign come back to me. A CWA classmate was responding to my CQ and he
was from Canada, SWEET!!! My first CW QSO was going to be DX. Oh,
nuts, now what do I do. Wait, I wrote a script, put it on sticky
notes and put the sticky notes on the front of the shelf above my
radio. Where are my sticky notes, where is the shelf, where is my
radio, what is this paddle thing in my right hand??? I took a breath
and started sending my scripted QSO. For the next few minutes, I
stumbled through my first QSO. It was very basic, just signal
report, QTH and name with lots of repeats and spelling errors. There
was some chit chat about how cool it was to finally be on the air
and then we signed off. My first CW QSO was done, and I was
completely spent.
I soon realized that I didn’t have a logbook or QSL cards. I went
ahead and logged the contact in a QRZ.com logbook and then found a
website that sold cheap QSL cards. I ordered 500 for express
delivery. After that first contact, I knew CW was for me. So, I
promised myself that I would make at least 1 CW contact a day for as
long as I could.
Over the next few days, I answered CQs and stumbled through
several more QSOs. I freely told my QSO partners that I was a new CW
operator and that they were my 3rd, 8th or 12th, etc. CW contact.
Most of the operators on the other end my QSOs had an incredible
amount patience. Many happily slowed their sending speed down and
resent basic QSO information 2 and even 3 times until I got it. I
copied statements like “Congratulations”, “Welcome to the Club” and
encouraging things like, “u r doing great”. I was sending out QSL
cards, and slowly QSL cards started coming to me. Several
experienced hams even took the time to send me emails after our QSOs
to offer words of encouragement and tips on things I could do
better. I was having a lot of fun.
Not all my experiences were positive. Several times, I was chased
off frequency after calling CQ. I was told that I needed to be
better/faster at CW before coming to the bottom part of the bands. I
was on 7065 kHz when that happened. I heard the folks running
digital modes around 7070 and up, so I was trying to stay out of
their way. One ham ended our QSO as soon as I sent that I lived in
Maryland. He already had Maryland in his logbook, so he didn’t
“need” my QSO. One ham got upset with me because I could not
remember my SKCC number. He was kind enough to send it to me before
abruptly ending our QSO. One ham told me to stop answering his CQ,
because he had already worked me a few days prior. It took me a few
QSOs to understand when someone wanted to ragchew vs. someone who
just wanted to make the contact, get the number/state/county/grid
square and move on. These less than perfect experiences did not
discourage me. Some of them taught me valuable lessons. Some just
made me chuckle. FYI, I made a new sticky note with my SKCC number
and Grid Square on it in big font.
As I write this, it’s a few days before Christmas, 2018. I am
still making at least 1 CW contact every day. I am up to 77 QSO’s on
80, 40 and 20 meters. I almost had a QSO on 10 meters, but their
signal faded before we could complete it. I am now thinking of
buying a brand-new radio. I just haven’t decided which one. There is
a ham radio store about 100 miles from where I live. I might just
drive up there and play for a few hours and see which radio (in my
price range) calls to me. Could be a great way to spend a Saturday.
Some interesting side notes:
• My first CW QSO was also the first CW QSO for the station that
answered my call.
• My 50th QSO happened the day before my birthday. When I
realized I had completed my 49th QSO, I was going to shut off my
radio and try for my 50th QSO the morning of my birthday. But
somebody called CQ, and without thinking, I answered, and I ended up
have a great QSO. He even sent me a QSL card with “Congratulations
on Your 50th QSO” written on the back.
• I worked a ham in Quebec. His primary language was French. Like
me, he was new to CW and had prepared a QSO script written in
English. We got through everything on his script and started to
ragchew for a few minutes. After the QSO, he sent me an email
telling me that he had copied what I sent to him, translated it to
French in his head, thought of a response in French, translated the
French response to English, wrote down the English translation and
then sent the reply to me. He did that for most of our 12-minute QSO.
That is a ham who wanted to complete a QSO. I thought I had it hard.
Before I end things, I just want to say thank you to my first 50
QSO partners. You were patient, encouraging and very quick to slow
down and repeat. You overlooked my newbie mistakes and put in a
little extra effort to help me through my first 50 QSOs. TU 73s es
hpe to wrk u agn ee.
And I huge thanks to my wife. She lets me go into the shack after
dinner, so I can get my CW QSO for the day before we sit down
together for the evening. She swears she hardly notices the 135-foot
dipole in our backyard. She listens and smiles as I tell her about
the my latest QSO, or as she puts it my “Radio Beeping”. BTW, she
has stated categorically that she loves me, but she is not going to
get her ham license, ever.
Tate Jackson
N3BXZ
Fair Lawn Amateur Radio Club
to partner with the National Park Service for Earth Day special
event
The Fair Lawn (NJ) Amateur Radio Club (FLARC)
will again partner with the National Park Service with a special
event amateur radio station to be held at the Paterson Great
Falls National Historical Park in Paterson, NJ .
The event will be held on Monday April 29th at the National
Park Service location at Mary Ellen Kramer Park, entrance along
Maple Street, Paterson, NJ from 9AM until 4PM. The event is part
of a larger celebration sponsored by the Passaic Valley Sewerage
Commission, Eagle Creek Renewable Energy and the National Park
Service.
The club's special event call sign (W2E) is to commemorate
"Water To Electricity" and the vision behind Alexander
Hamilton's transformation of the Passaic River to turn Paterson
into the first planned industrial city in America by taming the
power of water. For the fourth consecutive year, the club will
be a partner in this event. Expected frequencies are 14.245
14.045 7.245 and 7.045.
Hundreds of area students will converge on the Historical
Park for educational activities and will gain exposure to the
fun and benefits of amateur radio at the same time. Participants
in addition to The Fair Lawn Amateur Radio Club will include The
Paterson Museum, The Academy of Earth and Space Science (PANTHER
Academy of Paterson), The Green Club from the STEM Academy at
John F. Kennedy High School, The Great Swamp Watershed
Association, the Bergen County Zoo, and New Jersey Watershed
Ambassadors.
The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, please visit the club's website at
www.fairlawnarc.org or call 201-791-3841 or the Paterson
Great Falls National Historical Park website at
www.nps.gov/pagr or 973-523-0370.
AMSAT VP for Human Spaceflight
Programs explains operations onboard the ISS
As a result of the recent SSTV event onboard the ISS, a large
number of questions arose. The questions mainly centered on the
crew's ability to troubleshoot equipment and make adjustments to the
station.
Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS International Chair
and AMSAT VP for Human Spaceflight Programs posted a thorough
explanation of how Amateur Radio fits into the operation of the ISS
and the astronauts ability to service and operate it.
Frank says, "Please remember that ARISS is not the prime activity
on ISS. There are over 300 international experiments currently
operational on ISS on this expedition. I just heard in a tele-conference
last week that that number will go to about 500 experiments in the
next 1-2 years.
"Because of the vast number of experiments going on at the same
time, we can only occasionally get suggestions to the crew to make
changes to our payload. Any work arounds on any experiment/payload
will compete with the crew's already fully booked schedule.
Several ARISS team members, particularly our teammate in Russia,
were out of pocket this past weekend. Our Russian colleague was
informed of the issue early-on and acknowledged the issue. But he
also needs to get tied into Mission Control. That is difficult from
afar. And even if we ask for a change, it is challenging to get the
crew time to make this happen. Especially if it is outside the
flight planning stage.
"Once we have the Interoperable Radio System on ISS, we plan to
augment our radio system with a ground commandable capability. We
have already developed a concept for this capability. Once in place,
we will be able to do many things with our radio without crew
intervention, including mode changes to support SSTV, APRS, Voice
Repeater, etc..
This capability will also be important if we fly ham radio on the
Lunar Gateway, which will not have crew on it 24/7.
"Please note that to keep ARISS alive and implementing new
capabilities requires a great deal of funding. As an example, ARISS
currently has two individuals on travel to NASA Johnson running
tests for the interoperable radio system. This is one of three
travel trips required to get the radio system ready for flight. Each
one of these trips will cost ARISS about $3000 in travel--- nearly
$10,000 for these three testing events.
Also, this past week, we spent $1,100 to transport the HamTV that
was returned from ISS back to Italy to undergo troubleshooting to
potentially repair the anomaly we experienced on ISS.
"We have a Fundrazr activity right now to prepare the
Interoperable Radio System for Launch. We need $150,000 by the end
of this year and are well short of our goal right now. If you really
want to see improvements in the ISS radio system from where it is
today, please strongly consider donating to ARISS. Push the donate
button at
www.ariss.org. You can donate at several levels and
even a little at a time on a monthly basis. At some donation levels,
your callsign and name will be included on the interoperable radio
system that will fly to ISS!
"Thanks for all your interest and support to ARISS. I hope this
helps explain a little about what is happening on ISS."
Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
ARISS International Chair and AMSAT VP for Human Spaceflight
Programs
Free PDF book - C & GUI
Programming
The Raspberry Pi Press have published a free PDF book - An
Introduction to C & GUI Programming by Simon Long
Even if you are an absolute beginner, this book will teach you
all you need to know to write simple programs in C and start
creating GUIs.
The first half of the book is an introduction to C, and covers
the basics of writing simple command-line programs. The second
half shows how to use the GTK user interface toolkit with C to
create feature-rich GUI applications which can be run on the
desktop.
The author Simon Long talks about the book at
https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/an-introduction-to-c-gui-programming-the-new-book-from-raspberry-pi-press/
Download the book from
https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi/issues/c-gui-programming/
Three BIRDS Constellation CubeSats
Delivered to ISS for Orbital Deployment....about
time to start wearing a hard hat around here with all the space
junk being deployed
A Cygnus resupply mission to the International Space Station
(ISS) on April 11 also delivered three CubeSats of the
BIRDS-3 constellation and three other
CubeSats. The BIRDS-3 constellation is a project of students
at the Kyushu Institute of Technology. The additional
CubeSats include Swiatowid, KrakSat, and EntrySat. All
BIRDS-3 CubeSats are of the same design and have been
coordinated to operate on a common downlink frequency of
435.375 MHz. Each will transmit a CW beacon and 9.6 k GMSK
telemetry. The CubeSat deployer in the ISS Kibo module will
deploy the BIRDS-3 CubeSats at a later date.
The BIRDS-3 constellation includes CubeSats from three
countries: They are Nepal’s first satellite, NepaliSat-1;
Uguisu from Japan, and Sri Lanka’s first satellite,
Raavana-1. The primary mission of the BIRDS constellation is
to provide ciphered short messages via its 435.375 MHz
beacon, giving the opportunity for the Amateur Radio
community to decipher the messages using a publicly
available key on the
BIRDS-3 website. Operators able to successfully decipher
the message will be recognized on the BIRDS-3 website and
receive a BIRDS-3 QSL card.
In addition to their primary mission, BIRDS-3 CubeSats
will conduct remote data collection based on low-powered
LoRa modulation to demonstrate remote data collection and
processing aboard a CubeSat to, for example, monitor water
levels in flood-prone areas. The LoRa remote station will
operate at 433 MHz for Sri Lanka and Nepal and at 920 MHz
for Japan. Data collected will be posted on the BIRDS-3
website. Radio amateurs contributing to receiving the
processed data will receive a QSL card showing the nature of
data collected.
BIRDS-3 will also carry an imaging mission for public
outreach and awareness and Earth magnetic field measurement;
a mission to find commercial, off-the-shelf alternatives to
expensive space adhesives, and active attitude stabilization
as a precursor to active aiming control for future CubeSat
missions.
Other CubeSats carried aloft on the same launch include:
Swiatowid, which will carry a V/U transponder, with an FM
voice uplink at 436.000 MHz and downlink at 145.850.
Telemetry will be transmitted on 435.500 MHz and at 2435.000
MHz; KrakSat, which will transmit 9.6 k and 1.2 k telemetry
at 435.500 MHz, and EntrySat, a 3U CubeSat that will measure
thermosphere parameters during its orbital phase, and
satellite re-entry during the re-entry phase. It will carry
an Amateur Radio FM relay with a downlink of 436.950 (uplink
not available) and 9.6 k packet. — Thanks to AMSAT
News Service
TUESDAY: Another rainy day on the island....3910'er
Warren_KD1ZY, as you know, is traveling cross country on his new
motorcycle. He was on route 66 the last few days and went thru
Oklahoma, Texas, and now in New Mexico. Quite a trip on two
wheels.....
SILENT KEY: Well now
N3IBX
'Vortex Joe' is a silent key at 60. Everyone calls
Joe "VORTEX JOE" because any radio equipment
within 200 miles of Washington's Crossing, PA gets sucked into his
collection never to see the light of day again.
RIP Joe
New digital mode FT4
Joe Taylor K1JT has announced a new digital
mode, FT4, which is 2.5 times faster than FT8
FT4 is an experimental digital mode designed specifically for
radio contesting. Like FT8, it uses fixed-length transmissions,
structured messages with formats optimized for minimal QSOs, and
strong forward error correction. T/R sequences are 6 seconds
long, so FT4 is 2.5 × faster than FT8 and about the same speed
as RTTY for radio contesting.
FT4 can work with signals 10 dB weaker than needed for RTTY,
while using much less bandwidth.
FT4 message formats are the same as those in FT8 and encoded
with the same (174,91) low-density parity check code.
Transmissions last for 4.48 s, compared to 12.64 s for FT8.
Modulation uses 4-tone frequency-shift keying at approximately
23.4 baud, with tones separated by the baud rate. The occupied
bandwidth (that containing 99% of transmitted power) is 90 Hz
Further information on FT4 is at
http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/FT4_Protocol.pdf
Ulrich Rohde, N1UL, Wins 2019 IEEE CAS
Industrial Pioneer Award
Ulrich Rohde, N1UL, has been selected to receive the 2019
Circuits and Systems (CAS) Society Industrial Pioneer Award.
The Industrial Pioneer Award recognizes exceptional and
pioneering contributions in translating academic and
industrial research results into improved industrial
applications and/or commercial products. The IEEE Circuits
and Systems Society sponsors the award, which will be
presented at the International Symposium on Circuits and
Systems 2019 conference. CAS awards are intended to
highlight the accomplishments of CAS Society members and
celebrate their dedication and contributions both within the
field and to the CAS Society. Award recipients are nominated
by their Society peers in order to honor the service and
contributions that further strengthen the CAS Society. ARRL
West Coast Station K9JM to Transmit
April 25 ARRL Code Proficiency Run
West Coast station K9JM will be transmitting the official
ARRL Code Proficiency Run on April 25 at 0400 UTC
(Wednesday, April 24, in US time zones) on 3590 kHz. Sending
speeds will run from 10 to 35 WPM.
FCC Seeks Telecommunications
Specialist
The FCC has announced a position opening that may be of
interest to a radio amateur. The Commission seeking a
telecommunications specialist to work
at the High Frequency Direction Finding Center (HFDFC) in
Columbia, Maryland. This is a full-time position. The
person holding this position performs “watch duty” and
serves as a technical authority providing technical
assistance and guidance to communication systems users to
resolve radio interference complaints and problems. The
telecommunications specialist uses radio signal analysis
equipment deployed throughout the US to collect, correlate,
and analyze characteristics of radio signals involved in
interference problems, distress or safety-related signals,
or other radio signals involved in other high-priority
activities such as law enforcement or national defense, to
include HF, VHF, and UHF.
The successful candidate for this position collects radio
signal analysis information; analyzes complaints, inquiries,
and comments from multiple sources; investigates compliance
with FCC rules and regulations, and determines appropriate
action utilizing the FCC’s remote HF network of radio
direction finders and radio signal analysis equipment. This
individual develops definitive technical solutions
concerning telecommunications system architectures,
interoperability, expansion potential, and overall
end-to-end compatibility and net centricity.
The incumbent interacts with the public, licensees of
various radio services, private industries, other government
agencies, and representatives of foreign governments, and
represents the Bureau in meetings within and outside of the
agency. This person also conducts formal and on-the-job
training of coworkers, new recruits, clients, and
USTTI
participants.
This a GS-12 or GS-13 level position, depending upon
specialized experience. Applicants must have a minimum of 1
year of specialized experience equivalent to at least one
grade lower in the Federal service. The position at the
GS-12 level calls for: Experience with the HF spectrum,
including propagation characteristics and frequency
selection; experience with HF direction finding to include
skywave and groundwave techniques; experience with radio
communication, including modulation characteristics,
frequency selection, and proper monitoring techniques;
experience with basic investigative techniques and tools for
radio traffic analysis, and skill in analyzing specific HF
data
At the GS-13 level: Applying investigative techniques for
radio traffic analysis; applying principles and methods of
RF propagation (e.g., HF and/or VHF, UHF); analyzing
spectrum occupancy figures and geographic features (e.g.,
fixed and mobile radio stations, radar, navigational aids,
satellite links, terrestrial microwave and trunking
systems), and translating radio communication, including
modulation characteristics, frequency selection, and proper
monitoring techniques. FreeDV QSO Party
This is Grant VK5GR once again on behalf of the Amateur Radio
Experimenters Group.
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been talking about a
new event on the Amateur Radio calendar - designed to get people
experimenting on air again. The FreeDV QSO party
is now only 5 days away, starting at 0300 UTC Saturday 27th!
What is FreeDV you may ask?
It is a home grown digital mode, created by David VK5DGR. It
is designed for use on HF, allowing us to transmit voice signals
in less than 1kHz of bandwidth, at signal to noise ratios that
are equivalent to SSB.
So what is the FreeDV QSO party? It is a gathering of people on
air who like experimenting with FreeDV. You can collect points
by working other FreeDV stations which will qualify you for the
FreeDV award presented by AREG. Whats more, by getting more
people on the air at the same time using FreeDV, it makes it
easier for people to experiment with it! Look around the
following frequencies to help find stations using FreeDV during
the event:
1870kHz
3630kHz
7180kHz
14130kHz
21180kHz and
28330kHz.
During the QSO party, you can work each station once every 3
hours per band too, earning points and multipliers along the
way.
If you want to know more, head on over to the AREG Website,
www.areg.org.au
where a full copy of the rules is available.
There are also links to the website that you can download the
software from, with versions available for Windows, Apple and
Linux users. Dont forget, If you can use FT8 today then you can
just as easily use FreeDV!
We hope to see you all on the air next week using FreeDV, so
place the FreeDV QSO party in your calendar today.
SOGGY MONDAY: Hope you had a nice
Easter, I did...April showers bring May
flowers.....Slow day, I just have to wire the new lamp post with a
waterproof outlet box, cut some shims to mount he new post, and fix
a cane chair over at the shop. Probably have a coffee over at the
hot rod shop and go tractor window shopping this afternoon. I don't
know how I ever had time to work, retirement isn't all that bad....
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Cornell
scientists create ‘living’ machines that eat, grow, and
evolve
The field of robotics is going through a renaissance
thanks to advances in machine learning and sensor
technology. Each generation of robot is engineered with
greater mechanical complexity and smarter operating software
than the last. But what if, instead of painstakingly
designing and engineering a robot, you could just tear open
a packet of primordial soup, toss it in the microwave on
high for two minutes, and then grow your own ‘lifelike’
robot?
If you’re a Cornell research team, you’d grow a bunch and
make them race.
Scientists from Cornell University have successfully
constructed DNA-based machines with incredibly life-like
capabilities. These human-engineered organic machines are
capable of locomotion, consuming resources for energy,
growing and decaying, and evolving. Eventually they die.
That sure sounds a lot like life, but Dan Luo, professor
of biological and environmental engineering in the College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell, who worked on
the research, says otherwise.
ARTICLE
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Bouvet Island DXpedition news
OPDX reports that on April 18th, the following was posted on the
"Rebel DX Group" media page [edited]:
"The entire 3Y0I Bouvet Team is home and all are resting after
the Rebel attempt at Bouvet.
70 miles! 70 miles, 10 hours is all we needed and we possibly
could
have sheltered on the west side of Bouvet from the storm that
wreaked
havoc!
Our license is renewed, our equipment stored in Cape Town (thank
you
fellow Rebels), and we're already making plans for Bouvet in the
Fall!
In the meantime, where will the Rebels show up next? Any guesses?"
For more details and updates, we suggest to watch the following
Web pages:
https://bouvetoya.org
International Marconi Day event
Every year the
Cornish Radio Amateur Club organizes the International
Marconi Day (IMD) event to celebrate the birthday of
Guglielmo Marconi (April 25, 1874).
This year's 24 hour event will be held on April 27th, between
0000-2359 UTC. Stations are allowed to be active on 160-10 meters
plus 500 kHz (Note: Contacts on 6 meters and above will not count
towards the Award) using CW, SSB, FM, AM and available Data Modes (i.e
RTTY, PSK, JT, SSTV, FT).
As of April 21st, here are the following registered IMD special
event stations to be on the air:
9H1MRC - Marconi Amateur Radio Circle, Malta
CW1GM - Radiogrupo Sur, Uruguay
DA0IMD - Borkum Island, Germany
EI0CAR - Carndonagh ARC, Malin Head, Ireland
EI0IMD - The Mizen Head Signal Station, North Cork Radio Group
EI0MAR - Martello Tower, Dublin
EI5IMD - Cork RC, Crookhaven, Co. Cork Ireland
EI100YXQ - Marconi Site, Ballybunion, County Kerry
G2LO - Borough Hill, Daventry, UK
G2NM - Amberley Museum ARC, West Sussex, UK
GB0CMS - Caister Marconi Station, Life Boat Station, Norfolk, UK
GB0IMD - Weston Super Mare, UK
GB0MGY - Harlow RS, Essex, UK
GB0PBM - Lloyds Cottages, Portland Bill, Isle Of Portland
GB0YAM - Yorkshire Air Museum, York, UK
GB1BM - Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey, UK
GB2BYF - Claeddau ARS, Pembroke Docks, Wales
GB2GM - Poldhu ARC, Cornwall, UK
GB2IMD - Dragon Amateur Radio Club, Wales
GB2M - Lochboisdale, Isle of South Uist, Outer Herbrides, Scotland
GB2NH - Tidemills Marconi Site, East Sussex, UK
GB2OWM - Orkney Wireless Museum, Orkney, Scotland
GB4GM - Dragon Amateur Radio Club, Wales
GB4HSM - History & Science Museum, Oxford, UK
GB4IMD - Cornwall, UK (organizers)
GB4MBP - Bass Point, Cornwall, UK
GB4MDI - Barry ARS, Lavernock Point, South Wales
GB4WMD - Alum Bay, Isle Of Wight
GB5FHC - Fraserburg Heritage Centre, Fraserburg, Scotland
GB5LT - Luttrells Tower, Hampshire, UK
GB8MD - Telford & District ARS, Gwynedd, Wales
GB9GGM - Pepperbox Hill, Wiltshire, UK
II0GM - Rome, Italy
IY0GA - Capo Figari Golfo Aranci (SS) Sardinia Island
IY0IMD - Forte Michelangelo Civitavecchia (RM)
IY0ORP - Osservatorio Geofisico di Rocca di Papa (RM)
IY0TC - Torre Chiaruccia Santa Marinella (RM)
IY1MR - Rapallo (GE)
IY1SM - Santa Margherita Ligure (GE)
IY1SP - La Spezia
IY1TTM - Marconi tower, Sestri Levante, Italy
IY4FGM - Villa Griffone Pontecchio Marconi (BO)
IY5PIS - Coltano (PI)
IY6GM - Monte Cappuccini (AN)
IY7GMB - Circolo ARS, Bari
IY7M - Molo San Cataldo (BA)
K2M - Marconi Tower, Binghamton, NY, USA
K3IMD - Hartstown, Pennsylvania, USA
K3S - Nuclear Ship Savannah, Baltimore, USA
KL7NC - Marconi Station KPB Site, Ketchikan, Alaska
KM1CC - Cape Cod RC, USA
MN0VFW - Mid Ulster ARC, Northern Ireland
N6M - San Diego, USA
ND1U - Notre Dame ARS, USA
OE19M - IMD Station, Austria
PA6IMD - Gouda & District Section Veron, Netherlands
VA2IMD - Drummondville, Province of Quebec, Canada
VK2IMD - Hornsby & District ARC, Hornsby, NSW, Australia
VO1IMD - Signal Hill, Newfoundland, Canada
VP8VPC - Stanley, Falkland Islands
W2GSB - Babylon, Long Island, NY
W2LCW - Babylon, Long Island, NY
W2MRC - Somerset, New Jersey
W2RC - Radio Central ARC, Rocky Point, New York
W2RTM - New Jersey Antique Radio Club, New Jersey, USA
WA1WCC - Chatham, Massachusetts, Cape Cod, USA
WA3BAT - Philadelphia Museum Ship, Philadelphia, USA
For more details, information on their IMD Award Certificates and
updates on the listing of registered stations, go to:
http://gx4crc.com
WET WEEKEND EDITION: Space
weather forecast........
3919 FRIENDLY BUNCH UPDATE:
I know you want an update because you can't stand listening to Bobby
but still want to know what he hell these good doobies are up to. I
listened a few times over the week and I can tell you have missed
nothing. Same shit just another day! Nothing was discussed because
they just ID all night long.
The leader of this group is Bobby- KB4ABJ (who claims to be the founder
and #1) and the enforcer and backbone is big John- AC8IE. The
concept of this group is a noble one, offer a nightly PG rated rag
chew net to exchange information and meet new ham friends. Friendly
Bunch numbers are issued as a reward for checking in hundreds of
times by Bobby. Sounds great huh?
It could be except for Bobby and his abrasive personality. Bobby has
gotten so convinced of his importance to ham radio, he has become
hard to listen to. Although the group has a nightly assigned net
control operator, Bobby butts in all night long...usually about when
to ID. He just won't let the net control run the net....Bobby
gets his shorts in a bunch if you call this a net, he shouts it is a
rag chew. Bobby, it is a net, you check people in and out all
night long and keep track of those who have those damn coveted
friendly bunch numbers and those that don't, all night long....it is
almost comical...Bobbie just doesn't get how stupid he sounds....On
a bright note, there are some very interesting guys on the net. Big
John- AC8IE is one of the most interesting guys, knows his ham
radio, builds race cars, and does a great job running the net. When
Bobby is not around, which is rare, John runs the net and it is very
enjoyable and low key to listen to. I guess what I am saying is this
would be a fun group if they could just excommunicate Bobby....or
limit his talk time to 5 minutes per hour....and stop butting in
every 5 minutes....
The First Female Ham Radio
Operators, and their Awesome Legacy
Historically, literacy—in its many forms—has given the
marginalized a way to speak and participate in a system that
previously prevented them from doing so. And while the printing
press revolutionized the way writing was exchanged and shared with
the world, the invention of radio as entertainment, emergency, and
communication technology had a similar effect on oral storytelling.
From this, ham radio, also known as amateur radio, was born as a
subset of commercial radio. The appeal of communicating
independently to others across the globe struck a chord with many
people in the early 20th century—including women looking for ways to
participate in war efforts, and connect with other women around the
world.
Although enthusiasm for ham radio as the medium of choice for
hobbyists, veterans, and emergency responders hasn’t waned much over
the last fifty or so years, the hobby is making a strong resurgence
as aspiring makers acknowledge radio’s contribution to the movement.
Many hams consider amateur radio to be the original maker skill,
requiring knowledge of electricity, geography and communication.
And it’s one of many mediums that gave women the chance to have a
global voice—and they took it.
Calm the ham
For those unfamiliar with the subculture of ham radio, the title
“ham” was originally used as a negative name associated with amateur
operators who, without proper training, would disrupt professionals.
Eventually, though, the name lost its negative stigma and is now
used interchangeably with “amateur.” Regardless of someone’s amateur
status, all operators must be licensed and complete a training
program, through FCC regulations.
Female hams are called “YLs,” which is short for “Young Lady,”
regardless of the operator’s age. While that seems simultaneously
antiquated, cute, and patronizing, keep in mind that the ham radio
subset of men is referred to as “OMs,” or “Old Man.” The largest
organization for YL ham operators in the world is the
Young Ladies’ Radio League, Inc. (YLRL),
founded in 1939, which exists to encourage and assist YLs throughout
the world to become licensed amateur radio operators.
Although amateur and commercial radio was heavily male-dominated,
the response to the influx of women operators was—and still
is—largely positive. In “The Feminine Wireless Amateur,” a 1916
article in The Electrical Experimenter, the writer says:
READ THE ARTICLE
Ham radio satellite ground
station article in HackSpace magazine
The May edition of HackSpace magazine, issue 18, featuring
articles by radio amateur Jo Hinchliffe MW6CYK is
available as a free PDF
On pages 34-47 is his special feature on Space,
which explains how you can build a SatNOGS satellite ground station
to receive amateur radio satellites.
Jo's article Make a Slim Jim Antenna appears on
pages 110-111.
Also in the magazine, on pages 96-99, Ben Everard explains how to
build an ISS count‑down timer.
You can download the free HackSpace magazine PDF from
https://hackspace.raspberrypi
.org/issues/18
NepaliSat-1 launched to ISS....yet
more space junk..
The Kathmandu Post reports Nepal's first satellite
NepaliSat-1 was launched to the International Space
Station (ISS) on Wednesday, April 17
As well as carrying an amateur radio payload on 435.375 MHz the 1U
CubeSat will also collect information about the country’s topography
and earth’s magnetic field. Meanwhile, officials said, the satellite
itself will also be studied for developing more advanced satellites
in the future.
NepaliSat-1 was launched under the ‘Birds-3 satellite launch to
International Space Station project’ at 2:31am Wednesday by the
Antares rocket which carried the Cygnus cargo aircraft from the
Virginia Air and Space Center of National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
The NepaliSat-1, developed by two Nepalis, Abhas Maskey
KG5WNC and Hari Ram Shrestha KI5COO, at
Japan’s Kyushu Institute of Technology bears the Nepali flag and the
logo of Nepal Academy of Science and Technology. Similar satellites
from Japan and Sri Lanka were also launched alongside NepaliSat-1
Read the full story at
https://kathmandupost
.ekantipur.com/news/2019-04-18/nepals-first-ever-satellite-launched-into-space.html
Free entry to Hamvention on final day
The ARRL reports Hamvention® has announced that
it will open the gates to all, without charge, on the final day of
the annual gathering at Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in
Xenia, Ohio
The ARRL story says:
Hamvention 2019 General Chair Jack Gerbs, WB8SCT, said the idea is
to encourage the curious to see what attracts some 30,000 visitors
to Hamvention each spring.
“We have decided to open the doors to Hamvention to the public on
Sunday, May 19, without buying a ticket,” Gerbs said. “This will
make it a little easier and cheaper for someone with just a little
interest in Hamvention to see what all the excitement is about.”
In addition to the features and equipment that attract radio
amateurs, non-ham visitors will get to see vendors selling a variety
of other electronic equipment, including computers and accessories,
security devices, networking supplies, tools and other items of
interest to the general public. Those visiting the flea market area
may be surprised at what’s available, often at a small fraction of
its original cost.
Gerbs pointed out that Sunday is Hamvention’s lightest traffic day,
making it convenient for anyone who just wants check out what’s
there. Many vendors offer last-minute specials on a variety of
items. The many food trucks offer a wide selection of menus,
providing attendees with an opening to make Hamvention 2019 a family
outing.
Hamvention will be open on Sunday from 9 AM until 1 PM. On Friday
and Saturday, the gates will be open from 9 AM until 5 PM. While
some parking will be available at the Fairgrounds, much of it is
weather dependent. Visitors are urged to use one of the remote lots
with free shuttles. These are located at Hobson Freedom Park, 2910
Trebein Road, in Fairborn; Xenia High School, 303 Kinsey Road,
Xenia; Warner Middle School, 600 Buckskin Trail, Xenia, and Xenia
Towne Square, 84 Xenia Towne Square, Xenia. Shuttles are in
operation from 7 AM until 6 PM on Friday and Saturday, and from 7 AM
until 4:30 PM on Sunday.
Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer, KX8GCS, arranged to make text
alerts possible again this year. Those who wants to receive
up-to-the-minute mobile phone alerts regarding weather, traffic,
parking, and other useful information affecting the event are
encouraged to sign up by texting “Hamvention19” to 888777. Those who
signed up for the text alerts in 2018 already are registered for
this year’s event.
The Media Committee is working to make winning prize numbers
available on the alert system soon after they are drawn, in order to
help winners claim prizes and to decrease the number of unclaimed
prizes. Hourly prize drawing also will be posted on Twitter and
Facebook as well as displayed on monitors throughout the
fairground’s buildings. All prizes will be posted following the
event.
The text alerts supplement the Hamvention talk-in station that has
operated for many years on the Dayton Amateur Radio Association
146.94 repeater (123.0 Hz tone) to give directions and other
assistance. Last year a traffic bulletin station was also added on
145.525 to periodically repeat needed information. Amateurs with
2-meter capability are encouraged to program those frequencies
before heading to Hamvention.
Source ARRL
http://www.arrl.org/news/hamvention-opening-gates-to-all-on-final-day-of-2019-show
Djibouti J20DX IOTA DXpedition Thwarted by
Bureaucracy
Djibouti J20DX IOTA DXpedition operators Col McGowan, MM0NDX;
Jonathan Bowes, MM0OKG, and Christian Cabre, EA3NT, have thrown
in the towel on their efforts to operate from two infrequently
activated African islands — Moucha Island (AF-053) and the very
rare Sept-Frères (AF-059). Their J20DX operation was set to run
from April 16 – April 21, but McGowan’s and Bowe’s radio
equipment was impounded by customs upon their arrival at the
airport, despite the fact that Cabre had cleared customs
smoothly 2 days earlier. The team had “official radio licenses
being issued by Djibouti Telecom” permitting them to operate
radio without any conditions, they reported on the
J20DX website.
The operators were told that the Djibouti security agency would
make a decision on whether they could obtain necessary
authorization to retrieve their equipment, but time wore on
along with official inertia. Due to time constraints, the delay
quashed plans to activate AF-059.
“Nobody is more disappointed about that than us,” they said
on their website Wednesday, expressing optimism that they would
still be able to be active from Moucha or Maskali Island AF-053
and remain until Friday evening or Saturday morning. “Of course,
this depends on the aforementioned bags being released by custom
officials,” they added.
Still without all their gear, on April 18, they made the
crossing to Moucha Island, picked a location to set up, and
immediately assembled antennas for 20, 17, and 15 meters.
“Literally 5 minutes before the first CQ from AF-053, we
received a phone call from National Security saying signatures
were needed for the authorization letter to permit us to collect
our impounded gear,” the J20DX team recounted. “This same letter
would also allow us to depart Djibouti without any more issues
at airport customs. However, we had to return to the mainland to
get the letter.”
With the weekend in Djibouti being Friday and Saturday, this
Thursday would be their last chance to obtain the important
authorization letter prior to heading home. “Before we had even
started, teardown began. Yes, we left the island 2 hours after
arriving. AF-053 is now also cancelled,” they announced.
Upon reaching the National Security offices, the team said,
unfortunately, “no authorization letter [was] to be seen.” Amateur Radio Newsline 2164 for
Friday, April 19, 2019
HAMS ASSIST IN EFFORTS TO AID STRICKEN MARATHONERS
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We open this week's newscast with two reports that
remind us that ham radio saves lives -- and that sometimes ham radio
operators, even without their radios, help save lives. We hear first
from Paul Braun WD9GCO.
PAUL: As close to 1400 runners stepped off on April 6 for the
Springfield Illinois Half-Marathon, local hams assembled as a
support team for the event. Little did anyone know at the start of
the race that in less than two hours seven runners would suffer a
range of medical issues. With the first reports of two stricken
runners on the route's north end, Rich Marx, KB9TZS and Ryan Juhl,
KC9MHG both EMTs, were sent to assist along with Kevin Kesselring,
KC9IGM, an off-duty police chief. Nick Skaggs, N9BIG, also arrived
to provide aid. Both runners were sent to the hospital.
Jess Hunter W9ABS, the event communications and operations team
coordinator, told Newsline in an email that in all, seven runners
were taken to the hospital. Three had been stricken near the finish
line. Craig Held WX9CAH, an EMT, provided support in all three cases
while HSHS Medical and ambulance crews aided the two others, one of
whom suffered cardiac arrest. The Med Tent medical staff and Med
Tent Radio Operator Sunny Dahlquist KB9LXQ, a registered nurse,
handled a number of other cases in that busy time period.
The event's medical director Keri Snyder later phoned Jess to tell
him [quote] "Your folks helped save some lives today."
AMATEUR AT THE READY, EVEN WITHOUT HIS RADIO
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In Hawaii, meanwhile, one amateur radio operator was
in the right place at the right time -- his own home -- when
disaster struck. Here's Jason Daniels VK2LAW with those details.
JASON: An amateur radio operator who was once a volunteer forest
firefighter is being credited with quick thinking after a neighbor's
house in Waipahu erupted in flames earlier this month. Zeph
MacNaughton N7WAP told local media the smell of smoke awakened him
in the early morning hours of April 11th and he ran to the house,
pounding on the door to get the occupants to evacuate. By the time
35 firefighters arrived at the two-alarm blaze, Zeph had already
begun hosing down the burning house as well as nearby homes. He
remained on the scene until the firefighting teams arrived. The
Honolulu Fire Department said 15 people were displaced and were
assisted by the American Red Cross. No major injuries were reported.
The fire was extinguished by 3:15 a.m. The Honolulu Fire Department
captain told the Star-Advertiser newspaper that the building did not
have any working smoke alarms.
Zeph, an Extra class licensee, was treated by Emergency Medical
Services for smoke inhalation but refused further treatment,
according to the Star-Advertiser. The report said his home was one
of two that sustained smoke damage.
SILENT KEY: OWEN GARRIOTT W5LFL, WHO TOOK HAM RADIO INTO SPACE
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The astronaut who helped usher in the era of ham
radio in space has become a Silent Key. Kevin Trotman N5PRE has that
report.
KEVIN: Owen K. Garriott W5LFL made the world's first amateur radio
contacts from space during his time aboard Spacelab-1 during a Space
Shuttle Columbia mission in 1983. The voice of the astronaut, an
electrical engineer, went out from his handheld radio as hams
listened on 2 meters to the call sign W5LFL. It was a joy he later
referred to as "a pleasant pastime." His contacts eventually grew to
include U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater K7UGA and King Hussein of Jordan
JY1. He also operated from space on CW. His commitment to ham radio
in space gave rise to SAREX - the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment -
which morphed later into ARISS. His son Richard Garriott W5KWQ,
became a private space tourist in 2008 and also carried a radio into
space.
Owen died Monday the 15th of April at his Huntsville Alabama home.
The Oklahoma native was 88.
WHERE MARCONI MADE HIS MARK
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Saturday the 27th of April is all about the Marconi
connection. Hams around the world will be calling QR Zed from sites
in Wales, Canada, Australia and other locations where radio pioneer
Guglielmo Marconi lived, worked or operated. Dave Parks WB8ODF has
that story.
DAVE: One of the many operations honoring Marconi on the 27th of
April is the result of a partnership between the Great South Bay
Amateur Radio Club and the Long Island CW Club, both in New York.
Hams will be on the air at a small marina in the village of Babylon,
Long Island not far from where a Marconi shack once stood as one of
the first wireless stations in the United States. This was a
training school in 1901 and it remained in the Long Island
waterfront community until its relocation further east to the Long
Island community of Rocky Point in 1930. According to Howard
Bernstein WB2UZE, who belongs to both clubs, the shack had a
210-foot antenna and could contact ships as far away as 200 miles.
Hams are hoping for an even better reach on Marconi Day. Be
listening between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. for two call signs: W2LCW will
be operating CW and W2GSB will be operating SSB and digital. The CW
station will drop its power to 5 watts for QRP operation every hour
for a 15-minute period. Both stations will be spotting on the
clusters. For a full list of stations visit gx4crc dot com
(gx4crc.com) and click on the tab for IMD Stations 2019.
RADIO SCOUTS ARE COUNTING DOWN
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: You may not have heard K2BSA on the air lately but
these radio scouts have been busy, as Bill Stearns NE4RD tells us.
BILL: This week in Radio Scouting we're well into two countdowns for
Jamboree on the Air and World Scout Jamboree.
While activations have been quiet on the calendars, we've been busy
talking to many radio scouters looking forward to this year's
Jamboree on the Air which is only six months away. April is the
month when you recruit scouts for your summer Field Day plans and
solidify your plans for October with the troop, crew, pack, district
or council. You can also prepare to help activate a scout summer
camp. Jamboree on the Air, the largest international scouting event,
has been held the third full weekend of October since 1957.
World Scout Jamboree has passed the 100-day mark and we're all
getting really excited to activate the Summit Bechtel Reserve as
NA1WJ. The team is getting to know each other better through team
training and conference calls and we're happy that most of our
initial plans are still in the works. We did have to move our ARDF
component over to the orienteering section of the summit, but so far
we'll still going to have the demonstration station, balloon
launches and a contact with the International Space Station at
Summit Center. If you want to help from your shack, join our mailing
list over on groups.io. Just look up NA1WJ.
For more information on this and radio scouting, please visit our
website at k2bsa.net.
SEEKING THE 2019 YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: If you know a bright young U.S. or Canadian radio
amateur who gives of himself or herself to the hobby and the
community, you probably know a strong candidate for Amateur Radio
Newsline's Young Ham of the Year Award. The honor is named in memory
of Newsline's Bill Pasternak WA6ITF. We are currently accepting
nominations -- but the deadline of May 31st is fast approaching.
Information about candidate eligibility is available on our website,
arnewsline.org, under the YHOTY tab. You can download a nomination
form there to return to us. The award will be presented on August
18th at the Huntsville Hamfest in Huntsville Alabama. See you there!
TEXT ALERTS IMPROVE THE HAMVENTION EXPERIENCE
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Are you going to Dayton Hamvention? Once again,
texts to your mobile can help make it easier to navigate, as we hear
from Jack Parker W8ISH.
JACK: Before you know it, the weekend of Hamvention - May 17th
through the 19th - will be under way at the Greene County
Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, Ohio. To help you prepare for
the action, which of course includes traffic, the Greene County
Sheriff Gene Fischer KX8GCS has arranged for text alerts to once
again be sent to people's mobile phones. If you signed up for last
year's alerts you are already registered. If you're new to the alert
system just text Hamvention19 to 888777. Travel, traffic, parking
and other information will be sent your way. Organizers say this
texting system complements the talk-in station on the Dayton Amateur
Radio Association's 2-meter repeater.
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: There's more Hamvention news too: General chairman
Jack Gerbs, WB8SCT has announced that Hamvention is opening its
doors free to the public on May 19, the Sunday, which is the
three-day event's lightest traffic day. Visitors needn't be hams to
check things out. Meanwhile, the National Voice of America Museum of
Broadcasting in West Chester, Ohio, is again opening for expanded
hours during Hamvention weekend. Hamvention attendees will be able
to visit and the WC8VOA shack will be open for licensed hams to get
on the air. A special tour will also be given of the historic WLW
transmitter site nearby featuring the Crosley 500 kw WLW
transmitter. Reservations are required. To sign up, visit voamuseum
dot org (voamuseum.org)
WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA PREPS FOR ANNUAL MEETING
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: May is also a busy month Down Under, as hams in
Australia gather one week after Hamvention. Graham Kemp VK4BB has
that story.
GRAHAM: There's a lot going on in Sydney on Saturday the 25th of May
as the Wireless Institute of Australia's 2019 Annual General Meeting
gets under way. This year the event coincides with the centenary
celebrations of the Waverley Amateur Radio Society, Australia's
oldest continuously licensed amateur radio club. Early registration
will bring great rewards - if you're lucky. If you register by
midnight on Saturday the 11th of May you'll be entered into a
drawing for an FDP DMR and Analogue radio that operates on the
amateur bands as well as DMR Land Mobile and Citizens Band.
The next day, Amateur Radio New South Wales will open its doors and
welcome visitors at the Dural complex where a BBQ lunch will be
served. Tours will be given and the word in some circles is that
ARNSW's new tower will be up and running in time for that weekend.
FOX HUNTERS PREPARE TO HIT CHAMPIONSHIP TRAIL
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: An international foxhunt is coming this summer, but
no bushy-tailed creatures will be harmed. It's radio transmitters
that these foxhunters will be seeking, and Newsline's Joe Moell (MELL)
K-zero-O-V has the details.
JOE: They range in age from the teens to the 70s, and they're coming
from all over to compete in the most physical of all ham radio
sports. I'm talking about on-foot hidden transmitter hunters, also
called foxtailers and radio-orienteers. Their sport is Amateur Radio
Direction Finding, or ARDF.
It's all done on foot in a BIG outdoor space. Thanks to a set of
standard international rules, it's pretty much the same all over the
world, so we can have international competitions. Your mission is to
try to find up to five hidden ham radio transmitters without
assistance while on the run, or trotting, or just walking. You'll
carry a map and compass so you don't get lost.
Mix in with the USA's best radio-orienteers at the nineteenth
national ARDF championships in Raleigh, North Carolina this summer.
It starts on July 28th with four days of optional intense training,
followed by four days of competition.
Learn from the experts, then see how you do for yourself out on the
courses. You don't have to be a marathoner, but it helps to be in
good shape. There are thirteen separate categories with medals for
the best three in each, so you'll only be competing against people
of your own age range and gender.
Registration for the championships is now open, so start making
plans. You can read all the details and get a link to the
registration form on the web at www.homingin.com. That's homingin --
as one word -- homingin.com.
I hope to see YOU at the championships. For Amateur Radio Newsline,
this is Joe Moell K-Zero-Oscar-Victor.
HAM RADIO TO ASSIST IN INDIA'S ELECTIONS
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: In India, as the general election gets under way,
some voters can expect to see Amateur radio along with ballots.
JEREMY: In India, voters in West Bengal are expected to go to the
polls in May to cast their ballots for four seats in the Lok Sabha,
the lower house in Parliament. For their voices to be heard,
however, ham radio is going to be needed. The West Bengal Radio Club
has received permission from the Election Commission and the
Ministry of Communications to transmit information from the polling
stations to authorities over the course of various election days.
India's seven-phase election is taking place throughout the country
during a six-week period but the 31 areas in West Bengal are
utilising amateur radio because they lack mobile network coverage.
The secretary of the radio club Ambarish Nag Biswas VU2JFA received
official word recently that the club's proposal to assist voting had
been accepted.
WORLD OF DX
In the world of DX, be listening for Anders, SM-zero-HPL, operating
once again from Uganda as 5X7W until April 27th. Activity will be
limited to his spare time and he will be on 20-10m and possibly 30m.
Listen for him using CW, JT65 and FT8. QSL direct to SM0HPL or via
ClubLog or LoTW.
Matteo, IZ4YGS, is operating from Ghana's western region as 9G5GS
until the 7th of May. He will be on the air in his spare time and
can be found on 20 through 160m; QSL to IZ4YGS, direct or via eQSL.
Operators Bruce, AD7MM, along with his XYL Marilyn, KI7DLK, and
Doug, W6HB, are operating from Raratonga in the South Cook Islands
as E51BAS, E51MAS and E51DLD, respectively. They are on the air from
the 21st to the 28th of April. There may be some operations from the
stations of Jim, E51JD, and Bob, E51BQ. Activity will be holiday
style on various HF bands and modes. QSL via their home callsigns or
LoTW.
Listen for Juan, EA8RM, on the air from the Canary Islands as EF8R
during the CQWW WPX CW Contest May 25th and 26th as a
Single-Op/All-Band entry. QSL via LoTW or EB7DX.
KICKER: HEARING THE GLOBAL CALL OF RADIO WOMEN'S VOICES
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: When you hear people calling "CQ" is it OK to just
sit back and listen? It is if you are in the audience of one
particular performance in Denmark. Here's Ed Durrant DD5LP.
ED: It is a pileup unlike any you may ever encounter: The voices of
YLs from around the world calling "CQ, CQ, CQ," sending out their
call signs against the backdrop of steady even Morse Code. This is
one element of the production staged by performance artist Helle
Fuglsang "fool-SONG" and composer Neli Pantsulaia in Copenhagen in
March. Newsline reported on this special event which marked
International Women's Day with a celebration that blended art, radio
and voice in a music that crossed international borders.
If you weren't there in the audience at the Royal Danish Academy of
Music that day you can now be part of the audience anyway. Neli has
uploaded the 7-minute production and encourages YLs and OMs alike to
hear the programme known as "ON/OFF."
You'll find a link to this friendly musical pileup in the printed
script on our website at arnewsline dot org. Sit back and enjoy. You
may hear the voices of your sisters, your mother, your friends -
maybe even your daughters or yourself.
https://vimeo.com/330774003
FRIDAY EDITION:
Dead Dudes.....Stop and Shop Market is on strike here and it
basically is closed. A blessing in disguise for me, it is overpriced
and Market Basket is 1/2 mile away. The union has convinced the
workers that they should share the profits of the company. I can't
wrap my head around that concept. I build a company up, take all the
risks, and my workers feel I should share the wealth with them. If
you are not happy, quit. The minimum wage is scheduled to be $15 an
hour in a year in MA and they want more per hour to ring up, stock
shelves, and bag groceries. A kid in high school can work ten hours
a week and have $150.00 in his wallet. When does it end? $15 an hour
to flip burgers! Joe Biden arrived in Boston and talked at the
picket line about how he felt the pain of the workers...you gotta be
shitting me, he was playing the workers for votes for the democratic
party....period...
Today is World Amateur Radio Day 2019!
Thursday, April 18 — World Amateur Radio Day ( WARD)
— marks the 94th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio
Union ( IARU),
founded in Paris in 1925. Each year, WARD celebrates “Amateur
Radio’s Contribution to Society.” The occasion is being
celebrated with on-the-air activities around the globe.
“April 18 is the day for all of Amateur Radio to celebrate
and tell the world about the science we can help teach, the
community service we can provide, and the fun we have,” IARU
President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, said. “I encourage all radio
amateurs to join in the celebrations and promote Amateur Radio
on the air or in your community.”
Amateur Radio experimenters were the first to discover that
the shortwave spectrum was not the wasteland that experts of the
day considered it to be but a resource that could support
worldwide propagation. In the rush to use these shorter
wavelengths, Amateur Radio was “in grave danger of being pushed
aside,” the IARU’s history notes. Amateur Radio pioneers met in
Paris in 1925 and created the IARU to support Amateur Radio
around the globe, and that effort continues to this day.
Making a simple AM Radio
Trainee electronics engineer Chelsea Back
writes in Design Spark about her first experiences with radio
frequency circuits
All the other projects I have made so far have been digital and
microcontroller based, with the one exception to this being the
Nutclough amplifier, which was assembled from a kit. The big
difference in this project is that unlike the other ones which I
have built from scratch it is an analogue RF circuit.
We already had some TA7642 AM receiver ICs in the workshop and
some PP3 battery clips to hand, so I wanted to use both of these
components in my circuit. Since I had never built any analogue
circuits before I wanted to keep this fairly simple so would use
an external test audio amplifier for testing.
Read Chelsea's article at
https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/making-a-simple-am-radio
So Now What?
“All About Safety” is the focus of the new (April 18) episode of
the “ So Now
What?“ podcast for Amateur Radio newcomers. If
you’re a newly licensed Amateur Radio operator, chances are you
have lots of questions. This biweekly podcast has answers! “So
Now What?” offers insights from those who’ve been just where you
are now. New episodes will be posted every other Thursday,
alternating new-episode weeks with the “ ARRL
The Doctor is In“ podcast. “So Now What?” is
sponsored by
LDG Electronics, a family owned and operated
business with laboratories in southern Maryland that offers a
wide array of antenna tuners and other Amateur Radio products.
ARRL Communications Content Producer Michelle Patnode, W3MVP,
and ARRL Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, co-host the podcast.
Presented as a lively conversation, with Patnode representing
newer hams and Carcia the veteran operators, the podcast will
explore questions that newer hams may have and the issues that
keep participants from staying active in the hobby. Some
episodes will feature guests to answer questions on specific
topic areas.
Listeners can find “So Now What?” on
Apple iTunes,
Blubrry,
Stitcher (free registration required, or browse the
site as a guest) and through the free Stitcher app for iOS,
Kindle, or Android devices. Episodes will be archived on the
ARRL website.
A new billboard on Interstate 40 in Tennessee promotes ARRL and Amateur Radio.
Working with ARRL Product Development Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, and
Communications Manager Dave Isgur, N1RSN, ARRL Graphic Designer Sue Fagan,
KB1OKW, completed a design for a the new 10 × 20 billboard,
owned by ARRL Life Member Cliff Segar, KD4GT. Segar says the average daily
traffic count for the area along I-40 west bound, mile marker 336,
is on the order of 6 million vehicles per year.
Source ARRL
http://www.arrl.org/news/view/arrl-radio-communications-billboard-promotes-ham-radio-on-i-40
THURSDAY EDITION: That is quite a sign above, good idea.
How about a sign showing a bunch of young kids involved, maybe plant
a seed with some of the kids?.....Just two weeks until Nearfest, the
biggest show in New England. It is really nice to see the ARRL as
well as the Neafest team organizing activities to promote ha radio
for kids. Last year Nearfest had a hands on kids event with good
attendance. I am sure they hosting another one this year, bring your
kids and grandkids......If an
alien grabbed a subway ride in NY, would anyone notice?....
Wonder if this would work in my truck?
“Mentoring the Next Generation” is
Hamvention and ARRL 2019 National Convention Theme
With an eye toward helping new and inexperienced hams enjoy the
full range of activities that Amateur Radio has to offer,
Hamvention®
and the ARRL 2019 National Convention will embrace the theme of
“Mentoring the Next Generation.” Hamvention hosts the National
Convention May 17 – 19 at the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo
Center in Xenia, Ohio. This will mark the third year for
Hamvention at its new venue. A contingent of ARRL staff and
member-volunteers will join forces to make available many ARRL
exhibits and resources to Hamvention visitors. The centerpiece
of ARRL’s participation will be ARRL EXPO in Building 2. An
extensive roster of
exhibits and activities will also educate
and entertain. Instructors from the ARRL Teachers Institute
for Wireless Technology will be on hand to bring wireless and
electronics theory to life in hands-on demonstrations and
lessons. They’ll also touch on satellite communications,
microcontrollers, and the fundamentals of robotics. At a Sunday
morning forum (10:30 AM – 11:30 AM in Room 2) called
“Discovering Radio Communications,” presenters for the Teachers
Institute will highlight a variety of instructional experiences
and ideas.
As part of its mentoring focus, ARRL has invited members of
the Nashua (New Hampshire) Area Radio Society to Hamvention and
ARRL EXPO to share the club’s effective and well-developed
outreach program. The ARRL Special Service Club, which boasts
more than 200 members and is being recognized as the 2019
Hamvention Club of the Year, caters to radio amateurs of all
interests and experience levels. NARS will host an interactive
exhibit that may serve as a model for other radio clubs to
emulate as well as a Friday midday forum, “ARRL Spotlight on
Radio Clubs and Mentoring” (11:50 AM – 1:05 PM) in Room 3. Club
members will discuss their activities and approach to building
membership and club participation.
ARRL-sponsored forums will include the always-entertaining
ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, who will present “The
ARRL Lab: Trials, Tribulations and (Tall?) Tales,” on Friday
morning (9:15 AM – 10:30 AM) in Room 3. Hare has promised to
share with Hamvention visitors the inside information about what
goes on in the ARRL Lab, including a few tales you’ll never read
about in the pages of QST.
ARRL Great Lakes Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK, will
moderate the popular ARRL Forum on Saturday (12 PM – 1:15 PM) in
Room 3.
On hand to discuss “ARRL’s New Volunteer Monitor Program
and the FCC” will be Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, a familiar face
to many Hamvention visitors from his days with the FCC.
Hollingsworth is heading up the development of this new program
using guidelines provided by the FCC and his years of experience
working in the FCC Enforcement Bureau. Among other things, he’ll
talk about the importance of helping each other to maintain high
standards on the air, issuing “good operator” notices to
recognize exemplary behavior, and of course, deterring poor
operating practices. This forum is set for Sunday morning
(9:15 AM – 10:15 PM) in Room 2.
On Saturday afternoon, ARRL’s new CEO Howard Michel, WB2ITX,
will speak on “Engaging Today’s Radio Amateur” (1:30 PM – 2:30
PM) in Room 3. Michel says, “Ham radio shouldn’t abandon the
old guardians of the hobby, but at the same time, it needs to
have new things that appeal to people who have different
interests and different passions.”
Other ARRL-sponsored forum topics will include a panel
discussion on ARRL public service communications, moderated
by Rob Macedo, KD1CY, on Friday afternoon, (2:25 PM – 3:40 PM)
in Room 3. The ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative (CARI)
forum, moderated by brothers Andy, KK4LWR, and Tony Milluzzi,
KD8RTT, will cater to university students and those supporting
campus radio clubs on Saturday afternoon (4 PM – 5 PM) in Room
3.
An
ARRL Wouff Hong Ceremony will take place Saturday
at 9 PM at the Marriott at the University of Dayton (Tradewinds
Pavilion), sponsored by the ARRL Ohio Section. The traditional
Wouff Hong ceremony is steeped in mystery and represents a
tradition that goes back to the early days of ARRL history.
Register online. A limited number of remaining seats may be
available from the ARRL Field Organization Volunteers booth
during the convention (ARRL EXPO in Building 2).
The Wouff Hong is a fictional tool used to “punish” Amateur
Radio operators who demonstrate poor operating practices.
According to legend, ARRL Co-Founder Hiram Percy Maxim, 1AW,
under the pseudonym “The Old Man,” unveiled the Wouff Hong just
as radio amateurs were getting back on the air after World War
I, early in 1919. The “specimen of a real live Wouff Hong” he
wrote about in QST was presented to the ARRL Board, which
voted that it be framed and hung in the office of the Secretary
of the League. The artifact remains on display at ARRL
Headquarters today, a constant reminder to radio amateurs to be
mindful of operating etiquette.
For more information, see the
2019 ARRL National Convention: Exhibit & Activities
Guide. IARU argues for protection from
WPT spurious emissions
IARU was again represented at the meeting last week in Ankara,
Turkey, where committee SE24 (Short Range Devices) met to undertake
further work on the Work Item concerning Wireless Power
Transmission
SE24 is considering both WPT for electric vehicles and also generic
WPT applications.
IARU has made extensive input on the potential impact on radio
communications from spurious emissions from WPT devices and much of
this is captured in CEPT ECC Report 289, published earlier this year
https://www.ecodocdb.dk/document/8214
At the Ankara meeting further input was made by IARU and other
interested parties and there will be a meeting of SE24 dedicated to
WPT issues in early July.
Also at Ankara IARU attended the SRD Maintenance Group meeting ( SRD/MG
) where it was noted that further work was needed in SE24 before
spurious emission limits for WPT devices could be addressed in a
regulatory sense.
IARU was represented in Ankara by Don Beattie G3BJ,
Region 1 President, who is leading the IARU work on WPT.
What is it? see below...
WEDNESDAY EDITION: Well, I took a trip over to Tractor
Supply yesterday, it was my first visit to the new store. It was ok
I guess if I was a chicken farmer looking for feed and parts for my
broken down trailer....but, what the big deal?....I spent a little
time trying to help a friend program his cheap Chinese hot spot. The
first one arrived and was dead on arrival, the little wall wart
powering it overheated from excessive current draw from the unit. He
sent it back to the seller and a new one arrived with a bad sd card.
My friend became frustrated and sent it back and is going to buy an
Openspot 2. The Chinese one is $80 and the Openspot is over $225 but
you get what you pay for....Mike-N1XW is on a road trip in his
trailer with the wife and we all wish him safe trip to
Florida.......The picture above is a rocket launch as seen from
the space shuttle....If you have a weak display in your Icom
Pro 746/756 series radio, this is the guy to talk to....
Azores celebrate World Amateur Radio Day
This year to celebrate World Amateur Radio Day, the
Azores Amateur Radio Union (União de Radioamadores dos
Açores) will be activating it’s Azorean township Certificate.
On April 18th at 13H00 UTC we will begin communications with the
callsign CU3URA, this is valid for Angra do Heroísmo, we have also
invited fellow operators and other associations from 17 of the 19
Azores townships to be on the air, allowing for a network of
available stations to help everyone contact other townships missing
for the diploma or even try to achieve it for the first time.
At 19:30 UTC we invite all our members, ham radio operators,
general public or anyone who might enjoy radio to visit our
headquarters at Canada Nova de Santa Luzia, nº24-B, in Angra do
Heroismo, Terceira Island in the Azores, to come and celebrate with
us “our day”.
More info in
https://uraazores.wixsite.com/cu3ura
AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to
Hamvention
AMSAT Academy will take place on Thursday, May 16, the day
before Hamvention. AMSAT
says this is a unique opportunity for both beginners and
advanced satellite operators to learn about Amateur Radio in
space and working the FM, linear transponder, and digital
satellites now in orbit. AMSAT Academy will take place on
Thursday, May 16, 9 AM until 5 PM, at the Dayton Amateur Radio
Association (DARA) clubhouse, 6619 Bellefontaine Road, in
Dayton.
The $85 registration fee includes a full day of instruction
taught by some of the most-accomplished AMSAT operators; a
digital copy of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites
(2019 ed.); 1 year of AMSAT Basic membership; pizza buffet
lunch, and an invitation to the Thursday night AMSAT get
together at Ticket Pub & Eatery in Fairborn.
Registration closes on May 10 and will not be available at
the door. No refunds or cancellations. Register at the
AMSAT Store. Hamvention Opening Gates to All on Final
Day of 2019 Show
Hamvention®
has announced that it will open the gates to all, without
charge, on the final day of the annual gathering at Greene
County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, Ohio. Hamvention
2019 General Chair Jack Gerbs, WB8SCT, said the idea is to
encourage the curious to see what attracts some 30,000 visitors
to Hamvention each spring. “We have decided to open the doors
to Hamvention to the public on Sunday, May 19, without buying a
ticket,” Gerbs said. “This will make it a little easier and
cheaper for someone with just a little interest in Hamvention to
see what all the excitement is about.”
In addition to the features and equipment that attract radio
amateurs, non-ham visitors will get to see vendors selling a
variety of other electronic equipment, including computers and
accessories, security devices, networking supplies, tools and
other items of interest to the general public. Those visiting
the flea market area may be surprised at what’s available, often
at a small fraction of its original cost.
Gerbs pointed out that Sunday is Hamvention’s lightest
traffic day, making it convenient for anyone who just wants
check out what’s there. Many vendors offer last-minute specials
on a variety of items. The many food trucks offer a wide
selection of menus, providing attendees with an opening to make
Hamvention 2019 a family outing.
Hamvention will be open on Sunday from 9 AM until 1 PM. On
Friday and Saturday, the gates will be open from 9 AM until 5
PM. While some parking will be available at the Fairgrounds,
much of it is weather dependent. Visitors are urged to use one
of the remote lots with free shuttles. These are located at
Hobson Freedom Park, 2910 Trebein Road, in Fairborn; Xenia High
School, 303 Kinsey Road, Xenia; Warner Middle School, 600
Buckskin Trail, Xenia, and Xenia Towne Square, 84 Xenia Towne
Square, Xenia. Shuttles are in operation from 7 AM until 6 PM on
Friday and Saturday, and from 7 AM until 4:30 PM on Sunday.
Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer, KX8GCS, arranged to make
text alerts possible again this year. Those who wants to receive
up-to-the-minute mobile phone alerts regarding weather, traffic,
parking, and other useful information affecting the event are
encouraged to sign up by texting “Hamvention19” to 888777. Those
who signed up for the text alerts in 2018 already are registered
for this year’s event.
The Media Committee is working to make winning prize numbers
available on the alert system soon after they are drawn, in
order to help winners claim prizes and to decrease the number of
unclaimed prizes. Hourly prize drawing also will be posted on
Twitter and Facebook as well as displayed on monitors throughout
the fairground’s buildings. All prizes
will be posted following the event.
The text alerts supplement the Hamvention talk-in station
that has operated for many years on the Dayton Amateur Radio
Association 146.94 repeater (123.0 Hz tone) to give directions
and other assistance. Last year a traffic bulletin station was
also added on 145.525 to periodically repeat needed information.
Amateurs with 2-meter capability are encouraged to program those
frequencies before heading to Hamvention.
TUESDAY EDITION: Beautiful day here on the island....
Amateur Radio in Space pioneer
astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL, SK
ARRL reports the US astronaut who pioneered the use of Amateur
Radio to make contacts from space — Owen K. Garriott, W5LFL
— died April 15 at his home in Huntsville, Alabama. He was 88
The ARRL news story reads:
Garriott’s ham radio activity ushered in the formal establishment of
Amateur Radio in space, first as SAREX — the Shuttle Amateur Radio
Experiment, and later as ARISS — Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station.
“Owen Garriott was a good friend and an incredible astronaut,”
fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin tweeted. “I have a great sadness as I
learn of his passing today. Godspeed Owen.”
An Oklahoma native, Garriott — an electrical engineer — spent 2
months aboard the Skylab space station in 1973 and 10 days aboard
Spacelab-1 during a 1983 Space Shuttle Columbia mission. It was
during the latter mission that Garriott thrilled radio amateurs
around the world by making the first contacts from space. Thousands
of hams listened on 2-meter FM, hoping to hear him or to make a
contact. Garriott ended up working stations around the globe, among
them such notables as the late King Hussein, JY1, of Jordan, and the
late US Senator Barry Goldwater, K7UGA. He also made the first CW
contact from space. Garriott called hamming from space “a pleasant
pastime.”
“I managed to do it in my off-duty hours, and it was a pleasure to
get involved in it and to talk with people who are as interested in
space as the 100,000 hams on the ground seemed to be,” he said in an
interview published in the February 1984 edition of QST. “So, it was
just a pleasant experience, the hamming in particular, all the way
around.”
Although Garriott had planned to operate on ham radio during his 10
days in space, no special provisions were made on board the
spacecraft in terms of equipment — unlike the situation today on the
International Space Station. Garriott simply used a hand-held
transceiver with its antenna in the window of Spacelab-1. His first
pass was down the US West Coast.
“[A]s I approached the US, I began to hear stations that were trying
to reach me,” he told QST. “On my very first CQ, there were plenty
of stations responding.” His first contact was with Lance Collister,
WA1JXN, in Montana.
ARISS ARRL Representative Rosalie White, K1STO, met Garriott when he
attended Hamvention, “both times, sitting next to him at Hamvention
dinner banquets,” she recounted. “Once when he was a Special
Achievement Award winner, and once with him and [his son] Richard
when Richard won the 2009 Special Achievement Award. Owen was
unassuming, very smart, kind, and up to date on the latest
technology.” Garriott shared a Hamvention Special Achievement Award
in 2002 with fellow Amateur Radio astronaut Tony England, W0ORE.
Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, was a private space traveler to the ISS,
flown there by the Russian Federal Space Agency, and he also carried
ham radio into space.
3919 FRIENDLY BOOB EXCLUSIVE LOUNGE WEAR
|
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Well old #1 Bobby told us big things were coming and it
sure wasn't just hats and t-shirts. The Friendly Bunch want
you to be happy and comfortable while sitting in front of a
microphone for 5 straight hours every night ID'ing. These quality
made, 100 percent cotton, pre-washed and scratch free
britches,
are made in the USA, and embroided with your name, call
sign, and Friendly Boob number (if you ever get one). The
one piece design with the single over the shoulder
coconut holder keeps them drawers up even when you get into
an ID'ing frenzy every ten minutes.
One size fits all.....just picture yourself in front of
the microphone with your FB hat on...it just doesn't get any
better than this....you only go around once in life....get a
pair!
$19.95 shipped to your shack, you might never get a
Friendly Boob number but you can get a pair of these
britches hassle
free...
But wait....I am in a generous mood today, 2 pair for
$19.95....just pay a small handling charge for the second
pair... |
Ham radio digital modes petition RM-11831
in EE Times
Theodore Rappaport N9NB writes about the digital
modes petition RM-11831 in EE Times
(Electronic Engineering Times) an electronics industry magazine
RM-11831 asks the FCC to require all digital codes to use protocols
that “can be monitored in [their] entirety by third parties with
freely available, open-source software,” per §97.113(a)(4).
The proposal if implemented could lead to the banning of many
amateur data and voice modes that are not formally Open Source.
N9NB starts his article by citing the Engineers' creed adopted by
the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1954 and calls for
the engineering community to write to the FCC, to file comments in
favor of RM-11831.
He believes banning digital modes that aren't Open Source "is a
vital prerequisite to attract young hams who can participate in the
hobby and grow up with values comparable to the engineer's creed."
Read the article by Theodore Rappaport N9NB at
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1334565#
The Fair Lawn Amateur Radio
Club celebrate World Amateur Radio Day on April 18th
On the day that commemorates the anniversary of the founding
of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) in Paris in
1925.
The Fair Lawn (NJ) Amateur Radio Club (FLARC)
will help celebrate the event with an Open House that showcases
its operating stations and demonstrates amateur radio and its
value by communicating with fellow "hams" around the world.
The event will be held on Thursday, April 18, 2019 from
2PM-9PM EDT at FLARC's clubhouse which is located within the
Fair Lawn Recreation Center, 10-10 20th Street in Fair Lawn, NJ.
Club members will be available to demonstrate the operating
capabilities of its stations, discuss the many interests
encompassed by amateur radio operators and discuss the role that
amateur radio and the club play in public service activities by
providing communication from local parades to natural disasters.
All are welcome and refreshments will be served.
Amateur radio continues to adapt and grow in an age of
rapidly changing communication technologies. There are more
licensed "hams" in the US today than ever before. Locally, the
Fair Lawn club has over one hundred active members and is one of
the New York area's largest radio clubs. The club provides
education and training in electronics and science specific to
radio amateurs, participates in STEM (Science/Technology/
Engineering/Math) programs with local educators, and is active
in many public service activities.
The club meets every Thursday and Friday from 6PM at the
above address.
For more information, please visit the club's website at
www.fairlawnarc.org or call 201-791-3841.
Honda Portable Generators Recalled Due
to Potential Fire Hazard
American Honda has announced that it’s voluntarily recalling
some 200,000 of its portable generators sold in the US due
to a potential fire and burn hazard. The recall includes the
EU2200i, EU2200i Companion, and EB2200i generators. The US
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says the affected
portable generators can leak gasoline from the fuel valve.
Users should stop operating the recalled generator and
contact an authorized Honda dealer for a free repair. Honda
is also contacting users directly. For more information,
visit the CPSC website. A similar
recall has been issued in Canada. ARRL Rolls Back Outgoing QSL Bureau
Rates to 2011 Prices
ARRL is rolling back Outgoing QSL Bureau rates to 2011
levels. Effective May 15, 2019, the new rates will be:
- $2 for 10 or fewer cards in one envelope.
- $3 for 11 – 20 cards in one envelope, or
- 75 cents per ounce for packages with 21 or more
cards. For example, a package containing 1.5 pounds of
cards — 24 ounces, or about 225 cards — will cost $18.
No transaction service fees.
Any cards received before May 15 will be charged the
current rate. There will be no adjustments for cards
received before May 15.
More information is on the ARRL
website.
MONDAY EDITION: Today's IKEA
product to avoid.....Blowing gusts of 50mph, thundering,
and a little lightning on Cape Ann at 7am. It's Boston
Marathon day, ham radio assists on the course and provides a
community service. Quite an event, thousands of white men
and woman chase a half dozen African runners who win
every year....Another thief
electrocuted...
Julian Assange said he would dump it
all if he was arrested. Here it is.
https://file.wikileaks.org/file/
The Russians are screwing with the
GPS system to send bogus navigation data to thousands of
ship Warren, KD1ZY on a new
adventure.
....We'll
I am sitting here in north Yarmouth this morning, feeling exited a
bit uncertain. just a touch scared. The turn of events over the last
couple years has given me the means to embark on a big adventure ,
one i would never dreamed i could ever do. One i expect will be life
changing in some ways.but then again I really have no expectations .
I am flying to saint Louis MO Wednesday morning. with very little of
anything a back pack , and tail bag. mostly riding gear a couple
shirts a pair of shorts and a pair of jeans. and picking up a new
motorcycle then heading south west on I40 and old route 66 . going
all the way to the coast of CA and running rt1 or PCH the length of
the state. cant wait to drive threw the red wood forest . the only
thing i have booked in advanced is 2 nights in Roswell NM the 20 and
21. And 5 days in Vegas with t-mac is flying out to spend with me.
on 5/8-12 . I have no time limits on the length my trip No one but
myself to answer too.I expect to stay at air bnb or hotel every
night . but cant rule out a night or 2 camping. I expect to meet
many people and am looking forward to seeing what is like in
different parts of the US. my plan is to be back for memorial day
weekend . but its not set in stone. So there ya have it. Wish me
luck I may need it! warren
CQ Podcast - The S-Meter
In this episode, Martin M1MRB is joined by Chris Howard M0TCH,
Martin Rothwell M0SGL, Dan Romanchik KB6NU and Frank Howell K4FMH to
discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up
the news in brief and this episode’s feature is The S-meter by
Martin M1MRB
ICQ AMATEUR/HAM RADIO PODCAST DONORS
We would like to thank William Heckleman (KC3HZU) and Kevin Rupp
(WN7Z) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping
the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit -
http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate
News stories include:-
• FCC Asked to Allow All-Digital on AM Band
• MagPi Features Ham Radio
• New Packet Radio - Hamnet over 70cm
• Petition Seeks to Limit Digital Modes to Open-Source Software
• 2019 State of the Hobby Results
• Take In National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting During
Hamvention
• Amateur Radio SSTV Art Expo
• Successful Club Expands Training Team
The ICQ Podcast can be downloaded from
http://www.icqpodcast.com
New England Hams
you might run across 75
meters.........
K1TP-
Jon....Editor of As The World
Turns....
W1GEK-
Big Mike....Nearfest Cook, big
motor home, electronics software
engineer ...
AA1SB-
Neil...Living large traveling
the country with his
girlfriend...loves CW
N1YX-
Igor....peddles quality Russian
keys, software engineer
K1BGH...Art.....Restores
cars and radio gear, nice fella...
N1XW.....Mike-easy
going, Harley riding kind of
guy!
K1JEK-Joe...Easy going, can
be found at most ham flea market
...Cobra Antenna builder..
KA1GJU-
Kriss- Tower climbing pilot who
cooks on the side at
Hosstrader's...
W1GWU-Bob....one
of the Hosstrader's original
organizers, 75 meter regular,
Tech Wizard!!!
K1PV-
Roger....75 meter regular, easy
going guy...
W1XER...Scott....easy
going guy, loves to split
cordwood and hunt...
WS1D-
Warren- "Windy" - Bullnet
KB1VX-
Barry- the picture says it all,
he loves food!
KC1BBU-
Bob....the Mud Duck from the
Cape Cod Canal, making a lot of
noise.
W1STS- Scott...philosopher,
hat
connoisseur,
KB1JXU-
Matthew...75 meter regular...our
token liberal Democrat out of VT
KA1BXB-Don....75
meter Regular......residing on
the Cape of Cod, flying planes
and playing radio
KMIG-Rick....75
Meter Regular....teaches the
future of mankind, it's scary!
K1PEK-Steve..Founder
of Davis-RF....my best friend
from high school
K9AEN-John...Easy
going ham found at all the ham
fests
K1BXI- John.........Dr.
Linux....fine amateur radio op
....wealth of experience...
K1BQT.....Rick....very
talented ham, loves his
politics, has designed gear for
MFJ...
W1KQ- Jim- Retired
Air Force
Controller...told quite a few
pilots where to go!
N1OOL-Jeff-
The 3936 master plumber and
ragchewer...
K1BRS-Bruce-
Computer Tech of 3936...multi
talented kidney stone passing
ham...
K1BGH- Arthur, Cape Cod,
construction company/ice cream
shop, hard working man....
W1VAK-
Ed, Cape Cod, lots of experience
in all areas, once was a Jacques
Cousteus body guard....
KD1ZY-
Warren....3910 regular with
WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE
signal
N1YSU-
Bob, easy going, kind of
like Mr. Rogers until politics
are brought up then watch out...
K1BNH-
Bill- Used to work for a bottled
gas company-we think he has been
around nitrous oxide to long .
Silent KeyVA2GJB-
Graham...one of the good 14313
guys back in the day.
Silent Key
K1BHV-
David...PITA
Silent Key
W1JSH-
Mort...Air Force man
Silent Key
K1MAN--Glen....PITA
Silent KeyKB1CJG-"Cobby"-
Low key gent can be found on
many of the 75 meter
nets.........
Silent KeyWB1AAZ-
Mike, Antrim, NH, auto parts
truck driver-retired
Silent KeyWB1DVD-
Gil....Gilly..Gilmore.....easy
going, computer parts selling,
New England Ham..
Silent Key
W1OKQ-
Jack....3936 Wheeling and
Dealing......keeping the boys on
there toes....
Silent Key
W1TCS-
Terry....75 meter
regular, wealth of electronic
knowledge...
Silent Key
WIPNR-
Mack....DXCC Master, worked them
all!.. 3864 regular for many
years...
Silent Key
WILIM-
Hu....SK at 92... 3864
regular for many years...
Silent Key
N1SIE-
Dave....Loves to fly
Silent Key:N1WBD-
Big Bob- Tallest ham, at 6'10",
of the 3864 group
Silent Key:
W1FSK-Steve....Navy
Pilot, HRO Salesman, has owned
every radio ever built!
Silent Key:
W4NTI-Vietnam
Dan....far from easy going cw
and ssb op on 14275/313
Silent Key:K1FUB-Bill-
Loved ham radio.... |
